Pro Football Reference Blog

13 Best Wide Receivers in the NFL

Posted by Darin Hayes on September 29, 2023

In this article, we will use the data in the massive Pro-Football-Reference.com memory banks to find out who from the 2022 season were the best wide receivers in the NFL. We can achieve this by their production in the regular season for that year and determine who the leaders in each category make the cream of the position rise to the top of the best receivers in the NFL.

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10 Best Safeties of the 2022 NFL Season

Posted by Darin Hayes on September 28, 2023

Introduction to the Top Safeties of 2022

Some of the most sought-after specialists in the offseason are defensive backs, and none more so than the ones that play safety. NFL Players who man the Safety position need to be some of the most versatile athletes on their teams and in the League. They must be large enough to play against the big, bruising backs and tight ends but swift enough to run with the cheetahs at wide receiver. They are vital to run-support of their defense just as much as in defending against the passing attack of their opponents. They come in the free and strong varieties; some are even hybrids that drop into the box in an almost linebacker role. Other times, these players may be ball-hawking the deep zones of the speedy wide receivers or matching up to cover a tight end. It is an all-important high-profile position of the gridiron, and that is why we are so excited to share with you the top safeties in the NFL from the 2022 season. 

Using the powerful database of Pro-Football-Refernce.com and Stathead.com, the NFL safety rankings for the 2022 season will be unveiled in different categories of skill sets that will aid in identifying who is the best safety in the NFL for 2022.

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10 Best Running Backs in the NFL

Posted by Darin Hayes on September 27, 2023

Running backs have traditionally been some of the more popular players on NFL  teams next to the quarterbacks and, many times, even the very face of their respective franchises. This position does it all on offense as they occasionally run, block, catch passes, and even throw a pass. 

There have truly been some legends in the backfield, but who are the top 10 running backs in the NFL in history? Our mission in this article is to identify the best players in the running back position according to the regular season career stats from Pro-Football-Reference and Stathead. How do we measure who the best is? The data is beautiful in the eye of the beholder, so let’s break the leaders down by categories so you can use your judgment.

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10 Best Quarterbacks in the NFL

Posted by Darin Hayes on September 19, 2023

Introduction

The quarterback is the singular position on a football team that can make or break the organization’s success during a game or even a season. The National Football League is no exception to this rule, and in this post, we will cover the NFL’s Best Quarterbacks of all time.

How is the best QB of All-Time determined? Great question; we will use some of the information of stats and figures powered by the Pro-Football-Reference.com database and Stathead.com to find the best signal callers in NFL history of:

-Completion Percentage

-Passing Yards

-Best Turnover Ratio

-Touchdown Throws

-Championships

So, let’s review the information and judge the top 10 quarterbacks of all time.

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15 Best Kickers in the NFL

Posted by Jackson Michael on September 7, 2023

Today, we look at the best NFL kickers. Although it’s tough to decide who is the best kicker in the NFL, we can certainly put together a list of top NFL kickers. This NFL kicker rankings list will focus on the past few seasons, from 2019-2022. So, if you’re looking for who is a good kicker for fantasy football, this guide will likely help. We will consider field goals, field goal percentage, extra points, kicking range, and Pro Football Reference’s Approximate Value (AV) when comparing the most effective kickers in the NFL.

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2023 NFL Honors: List of 2022-2023 NFL Awards Winners

Posted by Darin Hayes on July 7, 2023

A long-standing tradition in the National Football League is to honor the people performing to the highest standard in their jobs. Officially known as the NFL Honors, winners receive not only the prestige that comes with recognition but also a nice piece of hardware. The 2022 NFL Honors were announced after the season ended, and we want to help celebrate the people that stood out for what they do for football’s top professional organization. Here is a look at all NFL awards from 2022.

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17 Best Safeties in the NFL

Posted by Jackson Michael on June 23, 2023

When deciding who is the best safety in the NFL, there are many factors to weigh. First and foremost, there are two different safety positions: strong safety and free safety. Both have different responsibilities. Strong safeties are named such because they line up on the “strong side” – the side of the line of scrimmage where the tight end is positioned. Strong safeties often have the responsibility of covering the tight end on pass plays and providing support against the run. Free safeties usually line up further away from the line of scrimmage than strong safeties, and generally more toward the “weak” side, without the tight end. As a result, free safeties were once referred to as “weak safeties.” Free safeties provide more pass coverage support, rushing to cover receivers who beat a cornerback. 

Although strong safety and free safety are two separate positions, they are often grouped when assessing defense. In our NFL safety rankings, we will consider several statistical categories from the 2022 NFL season such as interceptions, passes defended, tackles for loss, and forced fumbles to cover both strong safeties and free safeties. There are two teams with two players on our list of best NFL safeties.

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10 Best Punters in the NFL

Posted by Darin Hayes on May 8, 2023

The National Football League’s most recognizable players are the star playmakers on offense of the ferocious hitters on the defenses. There is that third phase of football, the special teams, and a man on each team that gets very little love in the spotlight, the punters. We will look back at the 2022 season to come up with the best punters in the NFL by using the data stored on Pro-Football-Reference.com. 

To complete this task, we want to share information on the players from different aspects and statistical categories to help in the determination.

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14 Best Tight Ends in the NFL

Posted by Jackson Michael on May 1, 2023

Who are the best tight ends in the NFL? Today we take a look at the best tight ends of 2022. Although receptions and touchdowns are key stats in considering NFL tight end rankings, it’s important to remember that tight ends also block. Some tight ends are great blockers and highly valuable to their teams, even if they don’t post gaudy numbers. NFL tight ends can also be valuable third-down targets for quarterbacks.

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10 Best Rookie Running Backs in the NFL

Posted by Darin Hayes on April 24, 2023

The 2022 NFL season had some dynamic rushers display their skills of running the rock on game days. Many of these talented running backs were in their first season as professionals in the League. Using our robust sports information database, this Pro-Football-Reference blog post will examine the best rookie RBs of the 2022 regular season.

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